Tag Archives: stimulus package

When I (and others) book a job three months in advance, the contractor can hire more workers knowing when checks will be coming in. My visibility creates the contractors visibility. The predictability of revenue creates the opportunity for economic expansion and job creation.

The Federal Reserve is operating monetary policy using a simple formula:

My personal example proves this formula to be flawed. I think the formula is more complicated:

Lowering interest rates across all maturities has both positive and negative consequences. As interest rates approach zero, (with the prospect that they will remain so for years to come) the negative consequences outweigh any benefits.

The idea that lower interest rates are hurting savers is an old one. The question is, “How significant are the negative consequences of low interest rates?” The multi-decade efforts in Japan to reflate an economy with low interest rates is a shining example of policy that has not worked.

Read this article, you will have, in nutshell, exactly our economic situation. Read at least some of the comments. If you filter out the hyperbole of a few, the comments form a kind of crystal ball, with some sobering predictions.

I have repeatedly demonstrated that – despite the false divide-and-conquer tactics of the mainstream parties and mainstream media – the overwhelming majority of Americans agree on the most important issues facing our country.

Despite what antigovernment conservatives say, non-defense discretionary spending on areas like foreign aid, education and food safety was not a driving factor in creating the deficits. In fact, such spending, accounting for only 15 percent of the budget, has been basically flat as a share of the economy for decades. Cutting it simply will not fill the deficit hole.

It’s time to stop looking for “recovery” (as in ways to resurrect this drooling zombie of an industrial economy) and start seeding transformation (as in building a 21st century economy, that turns most or all of the toxic dynamics above upside down). It’s time to stop thinking about getting back to yesterday’s prosperity — and time to start thinking about how to get past it.

“He makes a bee line to me right after the talk, in front of everybody,” West says. “He just lets me have it. He says, ‘You ought to be ashamed of yourself, saying I’m not a progressive. Is that the best you can do? Who do you think you are?’ I smiled. I shook his hand. And a sister hollered in the back, ‘You can’t talk to professor West. That’s Dr. Cornel West. Who do you think you are?’

HR 5297 passed the Senate last week. It will rush through the house and likely be signed into law by President Obama as early as Friday of this week. This bill will have a huge impact on business. Here, courtesy of Jack Kykendahl and Tom Yuhas is a quick run down of the bill:Continue reading →

Earlier today, our office sent you an email regarding yesterday’s announcement for $30 million in funding from the Recovery Act and FY 2010 budget appropriations which will be made available to qualified small businesses to support the commercialization of promising new technologies.

Qualified small businesses can submit applications through Grants.gov to be considered for award. Use the Grants.gov “Basic Search” feature to search for the Xlerator program. Questions relating to the content of the FOA must be submitted through the FedConnect portal at www.fedconnect.net. While there is not a direct link to the SBIR Phase III FOA, applicants can search for it by typing “DE-FOA-0000397” in the search box under the reference number search.

Please note that only DOE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I and Phase II grantees from FY 2005 to FY 2009 are eligible to apply to this U.S. Department of Energy Phase III Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA).